bet365 is new to the American gambling market, so we take a look at the platform and ask is the sportsbook is a legitimately good option for US bettors.
Is bet365 Legit?
bet365 is one of the longest-standing and most reputable online sportsbooks worldwide. Founded in 2000, it started out as a small company in a portable building in the UK. Nevertheless, its founders’ business savviness and background in sports betting helped it become a household name rather quickly.
By 2016, the platform grew into one of the largest bookmakers in Europe, sponsoring numerous professional sports teams and famous sporting events and earning numerous prestigious awards in the process. Now that the US Supreme Court’s PASPA ruling has been overturned, the brand is making the same strides on US soil.
bet356 has already launched in New Jersey, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, and Virginia and plans to expand further by taking on America’s biggest online sportsbook names like FanDuel and DraftKings. However, is bet365 actually legit? Let’s dive deeper into this operator’s offerings and services and find out.
✅Pros | ❌Cons |
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Impressive track record | Limited availability |
Fantastic sports betting coverage | No loyalty program |
Enticing bonuses | |
Solid live betting odds | |
Timely payouts |
- Great Welcome Bonus
- 20+ Sports to bet on
- Been operating since 2000
Is bet365 Rigged?
Being a major player in the real-money sports betting industry, bet365 offers services in many countries, including the UK, Mexico, Australia, Canada, and others. The site operates under a legitimate gaming license issued by each country’s official regulator, such as the United Kingdom Gambling Authority or the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. The situation is no different in the US.
bet365 made plans to launch in the country quickly after the Supreme Court reversed the 1992 PASPA ruling in 2018. Within the next three years, the company gained licenses to operate in New Jersey and Colorado by partnering up with Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and Century Casinos, respectively.
Besides allowing bet365 to legally offer its services, these permits demonstrate its integrity. They guarantee this online sportsbook operates transparently, offers fair betting options, implements strict security protocols, and abides by the highest KYC standards. An overwhelmingly positive reputation and favorable user feedback attest to these claims.
ℹ bet365 Key Info | |
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📅Online launch date | 2001 |
🏛️Owner | Bet365 Group Ltd |
🏢Headquarters | Stoke-on-Trent, England |
🤝Partners in the US | Hard Rock Atlantic City, Century Casinos, Cleveland Guardians, Hard Rock Casino Virginia, Casino Queen Marquette |
🔞Minimum age restriction | 21+ in New Jersey, Ohio, Iowa, and Colorado; 18+ in Virginia |
☎️Support | 24/7 live chat and toll-free telephone; Email (supportusa-eng@customerservices365.com) |
💬Languages | English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese, Russian, Dutch, Bulgarian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, and more |
🏈Sports coverage | Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, tennis, boxing, cricket, Formula 1, golf, handball, badminton, cycling, lacrosse, rugby, volleyball, table tennis, darts, esports, NASCAR, and more |
🎁Welcome bonus | Bet $1 and get $200 in bonus bets |
📱Mobile apps | iOS and Android |
Where Is bet365 Legal?
Bet365 is currently legal and available in the following US states:
However, the company plans to expand its US foothold in the near future. It’s looking to start operations in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Kentucky. As of now, the brand has signed an agreement with Churchill Downs and earned a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission license necessary to operate in the Keystone and Bluegrass States.
bet365 Licensing Details
Online sportsbooks must hold valid licenses to legally offer their services. bet365 boasts five such permits in the US:
- bet365 in New Jersey — New Jersey was the first state where bet365 launched after the PASPA overturn. The brand acquired the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) license and partnered with Hard Rock Atlantic City to gain access to the NJ market in 2020. Apart from sports betting, the said license and partnership allow bet365 to offer online casino games in New Jersey. Its portfolio includes a variety of slots, card games, and video poker titles from high-profile game developers.
- bet365 in Colorado — Two years after New Jersey, bet365 went live in Colorado. The betting site acquired the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Gaming permit and signed an agreement with Cripple Creek’s Century Casinos in late 2022. This collaboration allowed it to stock the Centennial State with various online sports betting options; unfortunately, there are no casino games since CO is yet to legalize this iGaming category.
- bet365 in Ohio — To reach OH audiences, bet365 clinched a deal with one of Ohio’s favorite professional sports teams, the Cleveland Guardians. It joined the first wave of online sportsbooks in the state by entering the newly-launched market in January 2023. Its offering is limited to sports betting since the Buckeye State, like Colorado, doesn’t have an official online gambling market yet.
- bet365 in Virginia — By inking a contract with Hard Rock Casino, the company became the second sportsbook available in the Old Dominion. Since VA doesn’t have a regulated online gambling market either, the platform limits its offering to sports betting in this state, as well.
- bet365 in Iowa — Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission gave bet365’s 2021 deal with Casino Queen Marquette a seal of approval in June 2023. The sports betting site joined the ranks of DraftKings and FanDuel, covering all major sports and popular betting markets. However, the legal situation with casino gambling is the same as above — the lack of a regulated iGaming market has prevented the brand from offering online casino games.
bet365 Responsible Gaming Policy
Since sports betting is such a thrilling activity, it’s easy to get carried away. To help its users keep their gaming habits in check, bet365 implements a strict responsible gambling policy. The site features an expansive help book on preventing, recognizing, and dealing with a gambling problem.
With the quality and quantity of its resources, such as activity trackers, win/loss histories, budget calculators, time-out tools, and a full-fledged self-exclusion program, it outperforms its biggest competitors on the US sports betting scene, FanDuel and DraftKings.
In addition, the site provides contact information for two organizations that help prevent and treat problem gambling among adults:
1-800-GAMBLER | Non-profit organization that provides information, education, and referral services to people suffering from gambling addiction |
National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) | National framework set up to assist people in addressing problem gambling |
bet365 Player Reviews
Although relatively new in the US sports betting arena, bet365 has been a part of the global iGaming landscape for over two decades. Despite a few hiccups, its reputation remains largely positive, bolstered by an 80 million-rich sports bettor base and an international reach.
This claim is supported by quite a few testimonials from past and current players. The brand’s native apps boast a 4.5 rating based on several thousand reviews, which is a decent sample size. Users praise the platform’s betting market coverage, live streaming capabilities, great odds, and frequent and rewarding bonus bets and other promotions.
Reviews on web-based sites like Trustpilot feature a somewhat lower rating. Though there’s a solid amount of feedback applauding bet365, it gets lost among complaints about the strictness of the site’s verification process and self-exclusion program. However, these practices are standard across all respectable online gambling platforms, and they’re in place to protect players, so these comments are probably coming from new players.
Is Betting on bet365 Fair?
bet365’s strong presence in the sports betting sector guarantees top-notch service for its players. Its desktop and mobile platforms offer a neat, minimalist layout both avid and casual bettors will appreciate. Plus, with its green and black interface, it’s easy on the eyes too.
The brand’s betting lines and odds match the industry standards in the US. For instance, when it comes to point spreads for major markets (like the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB), they typically sit around -110 on both sides.
These odds are pretty standard, but if you are looking for a more lucrative opportunity, we suggest that you give line shopping a try — this way, you may find a sportsbook that takes even lower juice.
Still, bet365 is a great choice, as it offers a pretty wide range of markets, including niche ones, such as MMA, darts, cricket, or golf. Of course, it is particularly well known for its in-play betting offer — a category it has excelled at since its establishment. You will get a chance to bet on more than 1,000 events daily, which sounds like a pretty fair deal to us.
bet365 History
bet365 achieved remarkable success during its first decade, thanks to its founder and chairman’s business acumen. It sponsored various Premier League clubs, starting with Stoke City in 2012, and won numerous accolades, including eGaming Review magazine’s Operator of the Year and SBC’s Bookmaker of the Year.
Still, it was not all roses for the company throughout its history. Several significant legal issues have arisen recently, most notably the controversial lawsuits for denying winning players’ payouts. However, the most famous of these cases resulted in a victory for the company, and the £1 million lawsuit over a horse betting reward was dropped in 2019.
How We Know bet365 Is Worth It
If you are still uncertain whether you should join bet365, the following list should help you make up your mind. Here’s a rundown of the criteria we use to choose the finest online sportsbook platforms in the US:
📖bet365 Sportsbook | |
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📜Reliability | Licenses and security make sportsbooks safe to use. |
👨User-friendliness | Intuitive design ensures bookies cater to experienced and new customers alike. |
🏈Sports coverage | Sites that cover more sports and events attract a wider range of users. |
🌐Live streaming and live betting | These categories offer a more enjoyable and engaging betting experience. |
💵Odds | When competitive, they offer better potential returns. |
🎁Promotions | Welcome bonus, deposit bonus, bonus bets, and other hefty promos help players place more bets and improve their winning chances. |
☎️Customer support | Multiple communication channels and responsive customer support help players navigate the site and resolve issues. |
Features That Make bet365 Legit Among the Competition
- Great Welcome Bonus
- 20+ Sports to bet on
- Been operating since 2000
Based on the parameters listed above, here’s how bet365 ranks among the competition:
- Trustworthiness — This online bookie holds licenses from five US state gambling governing bodies. The company guarantees that its operations are honest — as a result, you can be sure that the outcomes of your bets and casino games are fair. This sets it apart from many offshore-based sites providing services in the US.
- Easy-to-use platform — Even though the bet365 online betting platform is well-organized, new customers may find it slightly more cluttered than FanDuel’s, for example.
- Broad sports coverage — From top hitters like football, basketball, and baseball to niche options like horse betting and darts, bet365 features more options than some of its famous competitors mentioned above.
- In-play betting and live streaming — bet365 is known industry-wide as one of the first sports betting operators to offer live streaming. In addition, you can find dynamic lines and competitive live odds that outshine DraftKings’ and BetMGM’s.
- Enticing odds — bet365 might not always have the best betting odds, but it doesn’t fall far behind US’s biggest bookies, FanDuel, DraftKings, and Betway.
- Generous promotions — This sportsbook offers one of the best-stocked Promotion pages in the industry. It features a $200 welcome bonus, an early payout promotion, a 70% multi-sports parlay bonus, bet boosts, and casino bonus offers (NJ). Nevertheless, these incentives still lag behind big names like FanDuel and DraftKings, with deals as high as $1,000. Unfortunately, bet365 does not have a loyalty program.
- Helpful customer support — bet365 customer service team is available around the clock via email, live chat, and two toll-free telephone numbers — something few operators can brag about.
bet365 Review Verdict
All in all, bet365 passes the legitimacy test. Its solid track record, reputable licensing, and comprehensive sports betting coverage make it a safe and entertaining option.
Once the brand steps up its game in terms of US availability, heftier welcome bonus, and more competitive odds, it will surely achieve the same success as it did in Europe.